State-Specific Trends in Lung Cancer Incidence and Smoking—United States, 1999–2008

September 16, 2011 / Vol. 60 / No. 36

Lung cancer incidence among men continues to decrease nationwide.
Since 1999, the lung cancer rate among men has decreased faster in the West than in other regions.
From 1999–2008, the lung cancer rate among men decreased in 35 of the 44 states surveyed, and was stable in the other 9 states.
States with the lowest lung cancer rates were clustered in the West, as were about a third of states with the lowest smoking prevalence.

Lung cancer incidence among women decreased nationwide from 2006–2008, after increasing steadily for decades.
Lung cancer rates among women decreased in the West and stabilized in the Midwest, but were still increasing in the Northeast.
From 1999–2008, the lung cancer rate among women decreased in 6 of the 44 states surveyed, remained stable in 24 states, and increased slightly in 14 states.
Nearly half of states with higher smoking prevalence and over a third of states with higher lung cancer incidence among women are in the South.